Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar - Single Episodes - John Lund
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar is a captivating radio series that aired from 1949 to 1962, featuring the adventures of Johnny Dollar, a freelance insurance investigator known for his action-packed expense accounts. The show is notable for its unique storytelling style, where Johnny often shares insights and background information while detailing his cases.
Throughout its run, the series showcased various actors in the titular role, with John Lund being one of them. The program is distinguished by its lack of a partner or assistant, relying instead on the character of Pat McCracken from the Universal Adjustment Bureau to assign cases. The show gained a reputation for its engaging narratives and high-quality writing, attracting some of the best talents in Hollywood.
With a mix of drama and intrigue, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar remains a beloved classic in the world of Old Time Radio, celebrated for its innovative approach to storytelling and memorable characters.
This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.
Chapters
Reviews
Thanks for sharing!
newdickmorris@yahoo.com
I'm going to list some of my top ten favorite episodes below. This isn't an easy task because so many of of the best Lund era scripts were later used - and often times improved upon - in the classic Bob Bailey 15 serial run. So I am going to break my favorite episodes list into two groups: the "best of the best" and "very good but surpassed by their remakes." 01) The James Clayton Matter (12-05-52) This one was remade as The Shepherd Matter (04.16.56). The Shepherd Matter is one of the very best Bob Bailey episodes, imo, but as much as I love it, the original version is even better. The ending is just a complete punch to the gut. John McIntire made a million appearances during the Lund run of Johnny Dollar and he was always good, but I think this is his best performance. 02) The Elliot Champion Matter (12-12-52) This one was remade as The Bennet Matter (02.20.56). The original John Lund version is better, imo. The Bailey era version was far too padded, imo, particularly the last chapter. The Lund version is much leaner and is all the better for it, I think. FYY: this script began life as an episode of the Jack Webb "Jeff Regan" detective series called "The Man Who Came Back." 03) The Punctilious Firebug Matter (05-25-54) This is easily my favorite of the episodes of the Lund era that were never refurbished for the Bob Bailey run. Really good episode. 04) The Beauregard Matter (01-26-54) Good mystery. This one was remade as The Kranesburg Matter (08.24.56). The remake has much better production quality, but it's a little bit padded, imo. It actually runs six parts. The Lund version only runs 30 minutes, but I don't think the story suffers from it. Both versions are good, but I 'd give the nod to the original. Group Two - Very Good...But Not as Good as Their Remakes 05) The San Antonio Matter (04-28-53) Good episode, but the remake The Valentine Matter (10-31-55) is really fantastic. It was one of the first Johnny Dollar episodes that I ever listened to and it remains my favorite. 06) The Piney Corners Matter (03-23-54) is very good, but the remake The Shady Lane Matter (07.09.56) is even better. The original features Parley Baer who is always a treat, but the remake featured an interesting New England setting and the expanded run time allowed the writers to flesh out the townsfolk/suspects. Very good mystery plot. 07) The Ben Bryson Matter (12-29-53) Good performances by Lund and the other actor in the death scene. I still have to give the nod to the remake The Confidential Matter (09.10.56) due to the humanity Bailey brought to the character. The story really hinges on making the audience believe that Johnny is disturbed by the actions of his friend and I think that came across better in the remake. 08) The Dan Frank Matter (05-04-54) is good, but the remake The Open Town Matter (07-23-56) is very good. There is just too much story to squeeze into 30 minutes. 09) The Walter Patterson Matter (12.26.52) is a good story, but it's told much better in the remake The Chesapeake Fraud Matter (10.17.55). The extra time really allowed them to flesh the story out. 10) The Oklahoma Red Matter (06-09-53) is good, but the remake The Duke Red Matter (01.23.56) is even better. In fairness, the rough sound of the original version may make me a bit biased. Other Episodes of Note: The Baltimore Matter (01.02.53) This was remade as The Todd Matter (01-09-56) but I think the original John Lund version is better. The BB version featured a very annoying cop character that got waaaay too much airtime. The Voodoo Matter (08-04-53) The only episode of Johnny Dollar that I've heard that has a supernatural element. Or does it? They should have saved this one for Halloween. The Howard Arnold Matter (10-27-53) Pretty good episode. It would have fit right in during the Edmund O'Brien run of Johnny Dollar. The Magnolia and Honeysuckle Matter (04-13-54) Another solid episode. It would have made a great 5 part Bob Bailey episode. The Independent Diamond Traders Matter (11-24-53) Not an amazing episode, but I liked it because the bad guys had a fairly clever scheme. Two criticisms of the show: 1) I didn't enjoy the organ only soundtrack. The Bailey and O'Brien runs both featured nice musical accompanyment and the loss of that is really noticable here. The organ is not a subtle instrument at the best of times but there are times her when it sounds like the Phantom of the Opera is doing a solo in my eardrum. 2) I don't really care for John Lund's performance as Johnny Dollar. He is just too sedate. He's usually ok, but never exceptional, and occasionally he's so low key that he sounds like he's itemizing a list of things he's found in his junk drawer instead of listing things in an "action packed" expense account.
Successful Cases
harron68
These Lund episodes have good plots, done very professionally. They are less well known than the perfect blend of the Bob Bailey series, but have the advantage of having been heard less often. Lund isn't as "warm" as Bob Bailey, but less hard boiled than the Edmond O'Brien. Very enjoyable with good sound.
Love johnny
foxyryan
I have listened to all.and loving them
Files Updated!
OTRRArchive
FYI: Replaced files on this page from the Version 2 Release. For the full OTRR Release, see the OTRR Certified page: <a href="https://archive.org/details/OTRR_Certified_Yours_Truly_Johnny_Dollar" rel="nofollow">OTRR Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar</a> - Old Time Radio Researchers Group